Visiting Easter Island (Land-Based)

Hanga Roa Waterfront Park

At the waterfront park, with the supply ship in the background. The ship is Aquamarine, hailing from Valparaíso, Chile.

You can see that the freighter is carrying a deck cargo of numerous vehicles.

A horse grazing in the waterfront park.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004 (Day 6 Ashore)

Today I decided to rent a mountain bike to visit a few places in the vicinity of Hanga Roa. Although the sights are all "in the vicinity", they are a couple miles this way, a couple miles that way, etc., so they are not really within convenient walking distance. Just the same, I don't really need a car.

After breakfast, I packed up my gear and walked down to the center of town. I quickly found a store with a few bikes out front and picked out the best-looking bike. A very pleasant gentleman appeared and we completed the rental formalities (6,000 pesos per day). I mounted up and started pedaling north, with the general intention of visiting the island's museum (Museo Antropológico Padre Sebastián Englert).

The weather was very nice again, with hardly a cloud in the sky. As I was heading out of town along the shore road, I couldn't resist stopping to take duplicates of some pictures I already have. I took some pictures of the palm tree grove by the sculpture garden with the supply ship in the background. I took some pictures of the eyeless moai and the neighboring "seeing" moai (with eyes, nicknamed by Marcie "Obsidian Eye Guy"). I also took some pictures of the cemetery. I already have pictures of all those scenes, but I took them during one of the hurried dinghy trips ashore when the sky was a bland overcast and the light was poor.

The island's picturesque cemetery.